1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pervasive computing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A growing number of Web services are being made available to software developers. In general, a Web, or network, service refers to programmable application logic, which is made available to “consumer” applications via standard Internet protocols. Typically, a Web service is self-describing, self-contained, and modular in nature. Consumer applications access the Web service via protocols including Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based standards such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), Web Services Description Language (WSDL), and Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI).
One common function of a Web service is to provide developers with access to different data sets via search engines. Examples of data sets that can be searched via a Web service and/or search engine can include, but are not limited to, weather information, traffic conditions, on-line auctions, and the like. For the most part, users access Web services from consumer applications which execute on conventional computer systems, and thus, have a standard sized display or monitor. The display provides a suitable visual interface through which the user can interact with the application and/or the Web service.
Pervasive computing has garnered significant attention in recent years. Pervasive computing refers to an emerging trend in which computing devices are increasingly ubiquitous, numerous, and mobile. In practical terms, the rise of pervasive computing has meant that users are accessing applications and/or Web services through smaller portable and/or otherwise mobile devices such as portable phones, personal digital assistants, embedded systems, or the like. Users use these portable devices in lieu of more conventional desktop computer systems. These smaller devices have correspondingly smaller displays, making it difficult for users to interact with applications and Web services using purely visual means. Conventional user interaction techniques for mobile devices which involve the use of a stylus and on-screen keyboard or handwriting recognition, however, do not provide users with a fast and accurate means of communication.
It would be beneficial to provide a technique which allows a user to quickly and intuitively access Web services via a mobile computer system which overcomes the limitations described above.